Hope Solo: My Story Young Readers' Edition

by Hope Solo

The World Cup champion and double Olympic gold medalist shares her story in her own words! In this young readers' edition of Hope Solo's exciting life story, adapted from A Memoir of Hope , the former starting goalkeeper for the U.S. women's national soccer team gives readers behind-the-scenes details of her life on and off the field. Solo offers a fearless female role model for the next generation, driven to succeed on her own terms. Young fans will truly be inspired by Hope's repeated triumphs over adversity. Her relentless spirit has molded her into the person she is today—one of the most charismatic athletes in America. Includes an exclusive Q&A with Hope!

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Biography, Soccer, Memoir, Middle Grade, Autobiography

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2012

Reviews

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant Story

This autobiography of Hope Solo is an easy read and is enjoyable. It was nice to join the Us Woman’s Soccer Team again. We get the inside looks at one of the finest teams in history.

It was just okay and I lightly recommend.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a new fan to soccer. Up until a couple of months ago, I had no idea who Hope Solo even was. My ten year old daughter asked me to buy this book for her. She saw Hope play against Canada this summer in Salt Lake. She loved the game and though Hope Solo was amazing. She read the book in just over a day, and I couldn't help but join in her enthusiasm. It was amazing to read all of Hope's hardships that she's experienced and know that she's still an amazing soccer player. This book shows how faith, determination and love of family can make a person stronger. Great book for any soccer fan.

[Emily Akelaitis · Rating 3 out of 5]

As i neared the end of this book I thought to myself: Wow. This girl plays a lot of soccer. I have never been a fan of the sport, but she taught me more about it. I've come to understand it a lot better.
After hearing how much she struggled in her early years, and how she persevered, I feel inspired just like she did. I also appreciate how she was willing to publish this book, revealing all her thoughts and emotions she had to the world. That made me think of her as a human being rather than some star athlete who's all about the publicity and glory.
I have messed up too like she did with her team, but not nearly as bad. The way she handled everything like a mature adult idolized her for me. I don't know how I would react to my teammates ignoring me and being rude on top of it.
Through thick and thin, Hope Solo never lost sight of her dreams and did whatever she could to reach them.

[Sofia T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope Solo My Story by Hope Solo is about Hope Solo an olympic gold medalist that is the starting goalkeeper for the US Woman’s National Soccer Team. The story is being told by Hope who describes how she grew up in Richland Washington. Hope discusses how her family life was and how she ended up becoming a goalkeeper. In the beginning of the book Hope talks about her earliest memories that are filled with happiness. As you read further into the book Hope starts to discuss when her parents got divorced. Hope then discusses her soccer days during middle school and high school years which led her to be on the Olympic Development program. Hope takes you through her story of her personal life, combined with her soccer life on her journey to becoming a professional goalkeeper.
Hope started playing soccer at a very young age growing up in Richland Washington. Her parent’s divorced when she was around 6 years old. Hope originally started out as a strong forward when she was in middle school. When Hope went to try out at the Olympic Development Program she was first going to try out as a forward until she realized that there were more talented girls and she had a better chance trying out as a goalkeeper. It was in 1994 when she was selected as a goalkeeper for the Olympic Development Program. Hope went on to play for U17 national team. As Hope was getting more developed as being a goalkeeper she was receiving letters from colleges. When Hope was receiving these letters she realized that soccer goalkeeping was her ticket to college. She went on to attend the University of Washington. Hope was the starting goalkeeper for the majority of the 2007 FIFA Woman’s World Cup. She caused controversy after her remarks in an interview that resulted in many teammates shunning her but with much dedication she rebounded to help the United States win Gold Medals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. As Hope currently plays on the US National Soccer Team she still holds a record for most career shutouts. I would recommend this book to a classmate because every chapter led me to want to know more of her life that led her to soccer. I don’t think there were any weaknesses in this book as it was very well written.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope Solo is one of my idols so reading this book was of great interest to me, and it was well worth reading. Hope has come from a rough childhood and finally finds an escape. Soccer is her escape she really enjoys it. Throughout the story we learn of Hopes struggle and rise as the athlete she is today. I give this book 5 stars for its great detail and impact on my life. It made me realize soccer isn't just a game its more to me than that. Hope did a real nice job at an auto biography and I am glad she wrote it. Now all I got to do is wait for a part two!

[Natalia S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was very inspiring, I was very interested in this book because I look up to her as s role model because, I play soccer just like her and she has gone through many tough times and still managed to be amazing at soccer. My goal in life is to become a star soccer player just like hope solo. I recommend this book for people interested in women's soccers,and if your looking for a great role model.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very sad and inspiring story. It is about Hope Solo (the professional soccer player) and how she got to were she is now. It is very sad, for instance, when she found out her father homeless. THe central idea of this book is to live in the moment and never give up. That is why I liked this book so much.

[Ida · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far one of my favorite books. Im not really into biography but just since i like soccer and follow soccer I think this was an amazing book and the things that she talked about that happened in her life were really unexpected.

[Stella]

LOL NOPE.

[Luke Granholm]

It was a biography, however it does explain some of the decisions she made.

[Milan Pierre-Jerome · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This book was amazing. As a young soccer player, I truly connected to this book especially as I have been playing since I was 4 years old. I was inspired to read this book and I am so glad I did! This book highlighted relationships, hardships, and more which sent a message to young female soccer players who go through similar things in their career.

Also, the primary genre was autobiography. One specific reflection I had on what I learned was to be grateful for what I have in life. Hope has been through a lot, as have I, but what she has had a hard time with over her life was family. Her home life was not ideal. She faced a lot from a young age, and reading about this taught me to be grateful for the amazing family I have been a part of. A lesson that could be taught to children is the importance of pushing through hard times and to never give up. Hope is a great role model and example of someone who has pushed through adversity throughout the whole book.

This book was a WOW book due to the fact that I have grown to see how much of an inspiration Hope is and to read her amazing story with such great detail amazed me.

The author’s writing craft was excellent as it utilized conversational text and made me feel engaged with her choice of words. The author’s ability to shift moods from sad times to uplifting moments truly kept me engaged.

The book was definitely not biased and avoided all signs of stereotyping. The book wasn’t focused on race or gender, it was only focused on Hope and her story that made her who she is today.

[Isabell · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, Hope´ś father leaves her when she was a child. When he leaves she is with her mom and brother.When she started playing for the junior Olympics she is really good.When she goes off to college she plays at Washington, her home state. As the book goes on the team goes to the Women's national world cup in 2011. I give this book a five out of five because it is a really good book. I liked this book because it has sports in it. This book is good for kids who like sports.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see the history of US women's soccer!

[Megan Hosinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Biographical Nonfiction
Grade Level: 4-6+
This is a really inspiring book! I like how Hope goes into a lot of details about her life and all of the tough things she had to overcome. I think this book is very inspirational, especially for young children. I think it is good for children to know that even if they have hard times or difficult situations at home, there are people who have gone through similar experiences and come out on the other side. I also think this is a really great book for any young athletes. Hope talks about overcoming tragedy, injury, and mistakes, which I think is very encouraging to anyone who is struggling. Yet she also talks about her love of the game. I think this is important for young children to hear, and hopefully this book can motivate them to work hard at their sport, or whatever activity they have a passion for. Really great book!

[Aubrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hope Solo, My Story
Author: Hope Solo
Autobiography
246 pages

In the book Hope Solo it told about Hope Solo’s life on and off the soccer field. The book started by telling about her life and family when she was a child. Hope grew up in a tract house on Marshall Street in Richland, Washington. She tells about her small red house with a big wooden fence that had a smiley face painted on it. Hope says in the book that the smiley face wasn’t about happiness but a protest against their neighbors for complaining about their collection of junk in the back yard. Hope had a very hard life in school and at home. In school she was living under her trouble making brother’s shadow. At home it was worse. Her dad moved out when she was very little and she had a stepdad who was very cruel. Soccer was Hope’s way out. At one of her soccer games she saw her dad and he showed her his house, a tent in the woods; he was homeless. Hope kept up with her soccer career in high school and got a free ride to UW for soccer. After that she participated in many Olympic games, World Cups and other games for WUSA. She struggled with many things like her dad being accused of murder, her dad dying, her friend being hit by a car and her other friend’s dad dying. All of this stress lead to the fall of her soccer career. Two years after that Hope was back in the swing of soccer but some team mates where still a little sore about her talking to a reporter about them. The book ends by telling of the 2011 World Cup against Japan and how if there was any team she wanted to win other than the USA, it would be Japan.

I really liked the book Hope Solo, My Story for many reasons. The book was very touching with all that Hope went through. From her father being accused of murder and later passing away, to being shunned by the WUSA for almost two years. Hope had a very hard childhood, her father left and her stepdad Glen was always yelling at anyone he could. Soccer was her only way out. When Glen told Hope that she couldn’t play soccer anymore because it was too expensive, I loved how Hope’s friends, coaches and families from her town pitched in to help Hope continue to play soccer. It’s unbelievable that her town cared so much about one kid’s dream to help out to the point of it being an inconvenience to them. It’s unbelievable how much Hope overcame to be where she is today. When Hope’s dad died it was very sad because Hope was getting ready for a World Cup in Europe and she chose to go home for her family. When Hope got back her coach wouldn’t let her play, which I thought wasn’t very fair because she was the best goalie they had. Hope told a reporter this, and that’s what caused her team to shun her. I felt very sad for Hope because she made a mistake that she wished she could take back. We all do that sometimes, but this time no one was forgiving her. When Hope finally was forgiven she had a goal ritual to honor her dad which I thought was very sweet. She would put an ash of her dad’s into her glove and place it in goal with her so that her dad would always be with her in goal like he wanted. My favorite part of the book was the 2011 game against Japan because it was Hope’s big comeback. Hope said that there were several Star Wars inspired tributes to her, like HAND SOLO and THE FORCE IS WITH YOU, SOLO. Also there where others that she remembers like, MARRY ME, HOPE, I’M SOLO! Hope says her favorite fan tribute was when eight guys had with red, white and blue shirts that spelled out her name. The book, Hope Solo, was a great book and it was very touching.

[JoJo Garland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an autobiography about Hope Solo. Hope is a World Cup champion and double Olympic gold medalist in women's soccer. She was the starting goalkeeper for the U.S Women's National Soccer Team. The story first talks about the ups and downs of her childhood. Throughout Hope's life her father was in and out of jail. She was not close to her mother and often got into fights with her mother and step dad. Hope got into a lot of trouble at school and often ran away to her grandparents house. As a way of escaping her troubles she began to play soccer when she was 5 years old. When Hope was 13 she fell into the role of a goalkeeper by accident because the team needed a goalkeeper. Fast forward to Hope becoming the #1 college goalkeeper recruit. She attended the University of Washington where she began her career as the most famous women's goalkeeper.

Throughout her soccer career Hope learned many lessons. Throughout the story, Hope talked a lot about perseverance. Eleven months before the 2011 World Cup Hope had shoulder surgery. During her recovery the team and Hope doubted whether or not she would even be able to play. Hope worked really hard during her physical therapy and often times would be seen wearing sunglasses so that people would not see her cry from the pain. She persevered through the pain and started the first game of the World Cup. During one of the games the team went into overtime (penalty kicks) with Brazil. Hope's teammates told her "it just takes one." Meaning Hope only needed one save to win an important game. This "it just takes one" became Hope's motto.

I selected this book to read because I am also a soccer player and have enjoyed watching Hope Solo play. As a reader, I connected to Hope Solo's story. Sometimes professional athletes come across as perfect and paint a pretty picture of their life. Hope Solo told the story of her life. Her life wasn't perfect, she made mistakes, didn't have a lot of money and was still able to be successful. For me, I was able to relate to her story because it showed me that I don't have to be a perfect person to be successful as an athlete. It also showed me that forgiveness is important because everyone makes mistakes and mistakes do not define a person.

I highly recommend this story for people who love sports and for people who love a good inspirational story. You do not have to be a soccer player to connect to what Hope Solo has gone through during her life.

[Wilenin16 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any other athlete, Hope Solo has a story behind her success, one that includes both times of triumph and defeat. In the young reader’s autobiography, “Hope Solo, my story”, proves that with perseverance, motivation and faith, anything is possible. The Gold Medalist’s story began in an ordinary red tract house in Richland, Washington with a mom, dad and older brother. Her happiest memories are shared with her dad Gerry, her older brother Marcus, half brother David and half sister Terry. At the age of 13, Hope was playing for Olympic Development teams. By the age of 14, she was a freshman starting on the Richland High school girl’s varsity soccer team, finishing with 17 goals in her first season. The success of her talents gave her the attention of many reporters and college scouts. When she reached 18, Hope was playing on a full-ride scholarship, for the University of Washington. After college, Hope’s soccer journey truly started. Although being on the national soccer team was not what she expected, for the first time in her life she wasn’t respected or praised. That is when Hope faced the reality of her lifelong dream of becoming a professional women’s soccer player was not all that glorious.
While the life of Hope Solo is inspirational, it was a struggle to maintain focus while reading, the life changing events in the book were poorly depicted and not interesting. I didn’t care for the dialogue either, it lacked in emotion. I felt that the adjectives were forced and the vocabulary was plain. The story would have been more intriguing, if the events were not so predictable. Although I did like the gradual development of how Hope’s character was built through time. Within reading a few chapters, I was impressed by Hope’s strength and natural confidence. However being an autobiography, I expected the focus would be on Hope and not the other characters. It was easy to feel connected with Hope, as my background is similar to hers. Overall the end of book was decent, but once again predictable. The book is an easy read; however people who play soccer would enjoy and understand it better than someone who has absolute no interest in sports.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book that I read was called Hope Solo: My Story. I had already read this book so it was more interesting and I paid more attention to the details. In my opinion it was a good book and there was also some room for improvements. I liked this book because there was lots of problems and situations that were hard for Hope Solo to understand and eventually she would overcome and solve these problems. My favorite part was when she explained how her grandparents had a sign on the door that said, “grandchildren all ways welcome.” I enjoyed reading this part because her grandparents were so supporting and always there for Hope and this sign really showed that. Hope Solo was the main character in the story and she made some bad and some good decision one good decision she made was to fight for what she wanted and not give up when her parent said she had to quit soccer. This was a really good decision because it took courage and determination and also love for the sport to decide this. The conflicts were interesting and also had a lot more drama when i could recognize all the names she would bring up and the way that these famous athletes acted when they were not on the field or in front of a camera. I think many different groups of people could like this book including soccer fans, girls who look up to Hope, goalkeepers, and young kids into sports. I would definitely recommend this book to my fiends but not so much older adults and older teens. I read the whole book and also I read another book this book was 256 pages.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent sports memoir by one of the leading goalkeepers of women's soccer. I'm always amazed by the struggles people overcome to achieve greatness. While Hope Solo didn't have a tragic childhood, it definitely wasn't one people would envy. When she was in elementary school her father moved out and stayed away for years. She and her brother did not get along with her mother's new husband, which further weakened her foundation. Fortunately, she had soccer. She was recruited by the top universities. Over the roughly 20 years of her career she played alongside soccer's best on both the national and world stage, competing in the World Cup and Olympics.

The takeaway is that even the people we admire most have their fair share of problems. They struggle with relationships and decisions like all of us. I find it incredible that Hope's father was homeless, at times living in a tent in the woods. At one point he was accused of murder. Hope had to get over the embarrassing parts of her family and learn to appreciate the good. A great lesson for all of us.

Hope also describes the fierce competition and disagreements with coaches. She describes a high drama incident where her coach illogically did not play her in the World Cup game. The US lost 4-0. Her comments after the game led to a team crisis. She's completely transparent about her life and profession. Soccer die-hards will love this book.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope Solo: My Story by Hope Solo is an autobiography about the adventures of Hope's journeys to the US Women's National Team. It is told from a first person point of view with a narrator of Hope Solo herself. The book is all about Hope Solo's childhood, her adventures with soccer, and her struggles in and out of her soccer lifestyle.
This book was structured very weirdly as it had many times where in her professional career she made references to when she was younger. But past that the book’s structure it was very organized from her childhood, to starting soccer, to getting into the pool of national team players, and then eventually being able to play for the US National Team. Her story is very inspiring and has a moral of “Keep your head up high, it always gets better”. The story overall is very emotional as she deal with family issues throughout the entirety of her career. The story was hard to follow at points but didn’t take away from the entirety of the story. I do recommend this read as it doesn’t just focus on the soccer aspect and shows the lifestyle of any athlete and what struggles they go through. The books would still be better if you had a little understanding behind soccer as it does make some references that would be hard to interpret the points. I loved this book from a soccer stand-point and liked it a lot from an everyday person stand-point.

[Jasmine Aikey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope Solo my story is an inspiring story about her childhood and all the challenges she overcame to reach the very top. She became the one of the best goalkeepers in the world but the road to their was nothing but challenging. She came from a poor family who could barely support her soccer career, her parents split up, her dad ends up homeless then dies during the world cup. She was riding an emotional rollercoaster growing up, but eventually all her hard work paid off and she made it all the way.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars because she proved to me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I also liked how she explained both sides of her story from her perspective and her teammates perspective. She made nothing into something which i thought is amazing. This book inspired me to always do my best no matter what the circumstances are, it also showed me the 90 percent might not do it sometime so you should always give your best effort. I would recommend this for anyone looking for some sort of motivation to help you reach your goals, and I would also recommend this book to youth soccer players.

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book, "Hope Solo: my story", by Hope Solo, was such an amazing book. In this book, Hope talks about life, her soccer career, and her family life. The major characters in this book are Hope Solo, her family(dad, mom, grandparents, brother), and her soccer teammates(Bri, Carli, Abby, Lil, Aly, Cat, Marci, Kate, Shannon, Christie, etc.). The plot in this book is when her coach and captains decide to put Briana Scurry as goalie, which is her position, and her team ends up losing the semifinals of the World Cup. After the game, Hope is angry and says into a microphone directed toward her coach, "There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves..."(pg. 150).

I thought this book was so amazing! I'm glad I read it because it was so interesting and a good book. I loved how Hope talked about relationships with her family and teammates and about her soccer life and all the events. She made this so interesting and I'm glad I read it.

I would recommend this book to any soccer players/fans, as well as people who want to play soccer because this book is all about soccer.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Young Readers version of the book, so my review might be different then others. I thought that this book had an overwhelming amount of information on Hope Solo's life, mostly about her childhood. If you didn't know, Hope Solo is a very well known soccer player, who went through an extremely hard childhood that not many people know about. This is shown when her parents split up, she has a somewhat abusive stepfather, her biological dad vanishes, and her dad is a suspect for a murder. Even though I don't think so sometimes, I have a very easy childhood. Comparing my own childhood to Hope's, makes me understand that there are people out there, even people that lived in the same country as me, that go through day-to-day struggles that I could not even imagine. If they came out with another book on Hope, I might read it, and I might recommend it to someone.

[Chrishella Fermi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished it in one sitting.
I have just recently to follow women's soccer, therefore I didn't see her in action much. I watched her past games and being told by people that she is maybe one of the best goalkeepers in the world. This book somehow to me at least, explained to me how Hope Solo being the Hope Solo we all know. The relationship with her family story was touching and she made it clear that her family is one of the most important chunk in her life. The book flows so well, it highlighted much of her emotions at times, how she viewed her teammates, how her emotion was, etc. Bonus: you got to see many active US players being name-dropped in the book (i.e. Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath).

[Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope Solo
By: Parker Gebheim

Two time Olympic gold medalist and starting U.S. women's national team goalkeeper, Hope Solo takes us behind-the-scenes and shows us what her life is like off the field. Solo is a fearless female role for all women, driven to succeed no matter what. Follow her as she tries to navigate her not so perfect life and be the best goalkeeper in the country. I liked this book very much because it had the right balance of real life and sport life. It didn’t miss anything important in her real life while also keeping you updated about how her soccer career is going. People that have read Mike Lupica would probably like this book. This soccer autobiography is a very fun and interesting read. Other books by Hope Solo are Solo: A Memoir of Hope.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked "Hope Solo; My Story" because I felt like the Hope Solo really described what it was like growing up, and how her life in college was different from what most college students have. I also connected with the book because I to am a goalkeeper so when Hope describes the game in the book, I can picture what she is describing. Also I can relate to the book because when she writes down if they scored a goal, I have had the same thing probably happen to me. In the end I really enjoyed this book, and if you play soccer or if you are a goalkeeper yourself I feel like you would really enjoy this book.

[Neha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hope Solo is a really good and inspirational book for sports lovers and for people who need inspiration. The book talks about Hope Soloś's life and all the challenges she faced. Its a really inspirational story. The moral of the story is never to give up.

[Quinn Hendrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, Hope Solo: My Story by Hope Solo was very good. I found that this book was very easy to read and comprehend. I am not the best reader and I dont really enjoy reading at all. But, I caught myself reading all the time and wanting to read more and more. This book is about the life of hope solo and the tradgities she went through. It was amazing to see how Hope changed through the years. Being a soccer player myself, it was easier for me to be interested in the topic. One day I hope to acheive the things that Hope did!

[Kristin Larson barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my 11, 13 and 15 year olds. It was a fun and interesting read. She tells her story from her young childhood until just after the US won the 2012 Olympics gold medal. My 3 kids all loved it. There are definitely some writing and organizing issues in the book but overall you really get to know her story, her triumphs and some of the behind the scenes things that go on in professional sports. Her best writing is when she describes play by play action during the games. There is some minor language in the book but is a great read for sports fans and especially for girls.

[Erin Forsythe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it showed what someone famous went through and it gave a lot of detail. Hope Solo was going to college and had to go through a lot of ups and downs. She has a hard life. My favorite part was when she found out that her dad was homeless and she didn't care what he was she loved him for who he was. My least favorite part was when she caught her are in a soccer net in China and almost lost her arm. I recommend this book to people who like learning about other people and people who like books with a lot of detail. Hope you like the book!